West Central Reporter

Test results show 12.4% of Cass County students passed the Mathematics portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

The number of Cass County students who succeeded rose by 50.7% compared to the previous school year.

Woodford County County had the highest success rate across the state, with 44.1% of its students passing the Mathematics portion of the IAR. Schools in Alexander County County, on the other hand, performed the worst, with 95.8% of students failing to meet test requirements.

The IAR measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing in meeting the English Language Arts and Mathematics standards set by Illinois.

Based on their reading scores on the NAEP, public school students from Illinois managed to stay relatively on par with the national level, according to the National Center for Education and Statistics.

Assessment participation rates in 2023 are at or above the 95% testing threshold, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

School	Students who met standards (%)	Students who exceed standards (%)	Total enrollment
A-C Central Elementary School	46.8%	4.3%	154
Virginia Elementary School	28.8%	10.6%	178
Virginia Junior and Senior High School	26.2%	4.9%	136
A-C Central Middle School	9.8%	0%	94
Gard Elementary School	7.2%	0%	457
Beardstown Junior/Senior High School	2.7%	0%	807